Chapter 6: The Brother Who Never Died
At 5:17 in the morning, Chloe Bennett was standing outside a church where her dead brother had supposedly been seen alive.
She didn't know whether to cry.
Or run.
Or scream.
She did none of those things.
She simply stared at the photograph on her phone.
Leo.
Standing beneath the stone archway of St. Agnes.
Alive.
Older.
Thinner.
His hair longer than she remembered.
But unmistakably Leo.
Her Leo.
The boy who used to steal the marshmallows from her cereal.
The teenager who left terrible drawings on her notebooks.
The twenty-two-year-old who had called her every Sunday night because he hated being alone.
The brother whose funeral she had attended.
The brother whose room she had emptied.
The brother whose clothes she had packed into boxes because looking at them hurt too much.
Alive.
Chloe's fingers trembled.
Gabriel stood beside her.
He had been silent for several minutes.
Finally he said,
"You don't have to go inside."
Chloe looked at him.
"Yes, I do."
"He's being used as bait."
"I know."
"It could be a trap."
"I know."
"You could get hurt."
She looked back at the church.
"So could you."
Gabriel said nothing.
Chloe noticed something in his expression.
Fear.
Not for himself.
For her.
She wasn't sure what to do with that.
Gabriel checked the street.
"No cars."
"You expected them?"
"Yes."
"How many?"
"At least two."
"And there are none."
"Exactly."
Chloe sighed.
"You know, for a man who supposedly wants to protect me, you make everything sound worse."
"I'm not trying to make you feel better."
"I noticed."
Gabriel almost smiled.
Then his phone vibrated.
A message.
He read it.
His expression hardened.
"What?"
He showed her the screen.
LEAVE THE LEDGER. TAKE THE GIRL.
Chloe stared.
"Girl?"
Gabriel nodded.
"They don't want the ledger anymore."
"They want me."
"Yes."
"Why?"
"I don't know."
She looked at him.
"You keep saying that."
"Because someone has gone to extraordinary lengths to keep you alive."
He paused.
"That means you're important."
Chloe looked at the church.
"To Leo."
"Probably."
"Or to whoever has him."
Gabriel nodded.
"Probably."
She took a deep breath.
"Let's go."
They entered through the side door.
The church was empty.
Rows of wooden pews.
Dusty windows.
Candles burning near the altar.
The silence was unsettling.
Chloe's footsteps echoed.
Gabriel moved ahead.
She followed.
A bell rang somewhere above them.
Once.
Chloe stopped.
Gabriel turned.
"Stay close."
"I'm right here."
They reached the altar.
Nobody.
Then a voice came from the balcony.
"Gabriel Costello."
Gabriel looked up.
A man stood above them.
Dark coat.
Silver hair.
Calm expression.
Michael Costello.
Chloe had seen him only in photographs.
But the resemblance was unmistakable.
The same eyes as Gabriel.
The same sharp jaw.
The same cold stillness.
Gabriel stared.
"You died."
Michael smiled.
"So did half this family."
Gabriel raised his weapon.
Michael didn't move.
"Put it down."
"No."
"You always were stubborn."
"And you always were a coward."
Michael laughed softly.
"Good."
He looked at Chloe.
"You're exactly as Leo described."
Chloe stepped forward.
"Where is he?"
Michael's expression changed.
"You really want to see him?"
"Yes."
"Even after what he told you?"
Chloe's heart tightened.
"What did he tell you?"
Michael shook his head.
"You still don't understand."
Gabriel interrupted.
"Enough."
Michael looked at him.
"You have no idea what your father did."
"I know enough."
"No."
Michael's voice sharpened.
"You know what Antonio wanted you to know."
Gabriel took a step forward.
Michael raised his hand.
Three men appeared behind Chloe.
She froze.
Gabriel's eyes moved.
One.
Two.
Three.
Armed.
Michael smiled.
"Now you understand why I asked you to come alone."
Gabriel lowered his weapon.
Chloe looked at him.
"Don't."
He glanced at her.
"It's fine."
"No."
She shook her head.
"Don't give them what they want."
Michael smiled.
"Smart."
He pointed toward the rear of the church.
"Walk."
Gabriel moved.
Chloe followed.
They were led through a narrow hallway.
Down a staircase.
Into the basement.
The air was cold.
Damp.
There were old stone walls.
A single light.
Then Chloe heard something.
A faint sound.
Someone breathing.
Her heart stopped.
"Leo?"
No answer.
She walked faster.
Gabriel grabbed her wrist.
"Wait."
She pulled free.
"Leo!"
A voice answered.
"Chloe?"
Her entire world stopped.
She knew that voice.
She had heard it every night in her dreams.
She had replayed old recordings just to hear it.
She had forgotten how much warmth one word could contain.
Her brother stepped into the light.
Chloe couldn't breathe.
Leo stood ten feet away.
Alive.
His face was thinner.
A scar ran from his temple toward his cheek.
He walked with a slight limp.
But he was smiling.
"Hey, sis."
Chloe broke.
She ran.
Leo caught her.
They collided so hard they nearly fell.
She wrapped both arms around him.
He held her.
For several seconds—
Neither spoke.
Then Chloe punched his shoulder.
Hard.
Leo laughed.
She punched him again.
"You died."
"I know."
"You died!"
"I know."
"I buried you!"
"I know."
She hit him again.
Then cried into his chest.
Leo held her tighter.
"I'm sorry."
She pulled back.
"You let me think you were dead."
"I had to."
"No."
Her voice cracked.
"You didn't have to."
Leo looked at her.
"I did."
"Why?"
"Because they were watching you."
Chloe shook her head.
"Who?"
Leo looked toward Gabriel.
His expression changed.
"You brought him."
Gabriel stepped forward.
"I didn't know you were alive."
Leo stared at him.
"I know."
"Then why did you tell Chloe not to trust me?"
Leo looked at Chloe.
"Because I didn't know whether you were safe."
Gabriel's eyes narrowed.
"You knew my family was involved."
"Yes."
"You knew my father was alive."
"Yes."
"You knew Michael was alive."
"Yes."
"And you still warned her about me."
Leo nodded.
"Because you were the only Costello I couldn't verify."
Gabriel went silent.
Michael stood behind them.
"You've had enough time."
Leo looked at him.
"No."
Michael's expression hardened.
"Where is the ledger?"
Leo didn't answer.
Michael stepped closer.
"Give it to me."
Leo smiled.
"It's not yours."
Michael's jaw tightened.
"It's mine by blood."
"No."
Leo shook his head.
"Nothing in that ledger belongs to you."
Michael raised his weapon.
Gabriel stepped between them.
"Put it down."
Michael laughed.
"You still think you're in charge."
Gabriel stared at him.
"You brought my brother into my family."
Michael's eyes narrowed.
"He came to me."
"Why?"
"Because he needed protection."
Leo nodded.
"That's true."
Chloe looked at him.
"You trusted him?"
"I had to."
"Why?"
Leo glanced at Michael.
"Because he was the only Costello who wanted to expose Antonio."
Gabriel frowned.
"My father?"
Leo nodded.
"Your father built the network."
Gabriel stared.
"What network?"
Leo looked toward Chloe.
"The network that made the Costello family powerful."
Michael continued.
"The same network that made people disappear."
Chloe's stomach tightened.
"People?"
Leo nodded.
"Politicians. Witnesses. Rivals. Innocent people."
Gabriel's face hardened.
"My father didn't kill innocent people."
Leo looked at him.
"Your father ordered deaths."
Gabriel shook his head.
"You're lying."
"I'm not."
"Then show me."
Leo looked at Michael.
Michael nodded.
Leo walked to an old wooden cabinet.
He opened it.
Inside were files.
Photographs.
Bank records.
Newspaper clippings.
He pulled out one folder.
Then another.
He placed them on the table.
"These are people your father had removed."
Gabriel opened the first.
A judge.
Second.
A police detective.
Third.
A businessman.
Fourth—
A young woman.
Chloe stared at the photograph.
She recognized her.
"Who is she?"
Leo looked at her.
"Her name was Elena Vargas."
"What happened?"
"She was a bookkeeper."
"Why was she killed?"
"She discovered the payments."
Chloe looked at Gabriel.
He looked sick.
Leo opened another folder.
Inside was a photograph of Beatrice.
Young.
Standing beside Antonio.
Chloe frowned.
"Why is she here?"
Leo's expression softened.
"Because your mother tried to stop him."
Gabriel looked up.
"My mother?"
"She discovered what Antonio was doing."
"Then why didn't she leave?"
"Because Antonio threatened you."
Gabriel went still.
"He threatened me?"
Leo nodded.
"When you were seventeen."
Gabriel remembered.
A summer night.
His father locking the study door.
His mother crying.
Gabriel had thought it was an argument.
He had never asked.
Leo continued.
"Antonio told Beatrice that if she went to the police, you would disappear."
Gabriel closed his eyes.
"So she stayed."
"Yes."
"She protected me."
"Yes."
Gabriel looked at the floor.
Chloe watched him.
Leo continued.
"Years later, Beatrice discovered Antonio had created a second ledger."
Gabriel looked up.
"Second?"
Leo nodded.
"The first ledger documented the money."
He opened another file.
"The second documented the people."
Chloe frowned.
"People?"
"Who was loyal."
"Who wasn't."
"Who had been bought."
"Who needed to be removed."
Gabriel stared.
"Where is it?"
Leo looked at him.
"Your mother had it."
Gabriel's eyes widened.
"She gave it to you?"
Leo shook his head.
"She hid it."
"Where?"
Leo looked at Chloe.
"Inside something nobody would ever search."
Chloe understood.
"The necklace."
Leo nodded.
"The original key wasn't a marker."
Gabriel frowned.
"What was it?"
Leo smiled.
"It opened a hidden compartment inside Beatrice's old house."
Gabriel's face changed.
"The house in Brooklyn."
Leo nodded.
"But there was one problem."
"What?"
"Dominic found out."
Gabriel stared.
"Dominic."
Leo nodded.
"He wasn't your uncle."
Michael interrupted.
"Dominic was his son."
Gabriel looked at him.
"My father's son?"
Michael nodded.
"My half-brother."
Gabriel's eyes widened.
"Then why did he serve me?"
Michael answered.
"Because Antonio ordered him to."
Leo continued.
"Dominic's job was simple."
"Watch Gabriel."
"Control what reached him."
"Keep him away from the truth."
"And if necessary—"
Leo paused.
"Remove him."
Gabriel's expression hardened.
"He tried to kill me."
Leo nodded.
"Yes."
"Why didn't he?"
Michael answered.
"Because Beatrice stopped him."
Gabriel looked at his mother in his mind.
Her hands.
Her silence.
Her frustration.
Her constant attempts to tell him something.
He finally understood.
She hadn't been nagging him.
She had been warning him.
For years.
He had simply never listened.
Chloe looked at Leo.
"What happened after the accident?"
Leo's face changed.
"I woke up in this hospital."
"You were alive."
"Yes."
"Why didn't you call me?"
"I tried."
"When?"
"Every night."
Chloe's eyes filled.
"Why didn't I hear you?"
Leo looked away.
"Because they were monitoring every call."
"Who?"
"Dominic."
"How?"
"He controlled the hospital."
Chloe shook her head.
"He couldn't control an entire hospital."
"He didn't have to."
Leo looked at her.
"He only needed one person."
Chloe's stomach tightened.
"Who?"
Leo didn't answer.
Michael did.
"The nurse."
Chloe remembered.
The elderly nurse.
The woman who had given her the letter.
The woman who knew Leo.
Chloe's face changed.
"She worked for Dominic?"
Leo shook his head.
"No."
"Then who?"
Leo looked at Gabriel.
"Antonio."
Silence.
Gabriel whispered,
"My father."
Leo nodded.
"He knew you survived."
"Then why let you live?"
Leo's expression became grim.
"Because he wanted something."
"What?"
"The ledger."
Gabriel looked at the notebook.
"And when you didn't give it to him?"
"He threatened Chloe."
Chloe stopped breathing.
Leo continued.
"He knew she was the one person I couldn't sacrifice."
Gabriel looked at Chloe.
"That's why you disappeared."
"Yes."
"Why come back now?"
Leo looked at his sister.
"Because the person protecting you is dead."
Chloe frowned.
"Who?"
Leo pointed toward Gabriel.
"Your father."
Gabriel stared.
"What?"
Leo nodded.
"Antonio was never protecting himself."
"He was protecting us."
"Then why did he shoot me?"
Michael's expression changed.
"He didn't."
Gabriel looked at him.
"What?"
"The man who shot Antonio at Warehouse 17 wasn't Dominic."
Leo nodded.
"It was Vincent."
Gabriel's face hardened.
"Vincent."
"He was following Dominic."
"Where is he?"
Leo didn't answer.
Michael did.
"Dead."
Gabriel stared.
"Who killed him?"
Michael looked toward the ceiling.
"Someone who wanted him silent."
Chloe suddenly understood.
"Antonio."
Everyone looked at her.
"Antonio knew."
Leo nodded.
"He knew Vincent would try to kill him."
"Then why go to the warehouse?"
"Because he needed you to find the ledger."
Gabriel's expression changed.
"He knew he was going to die."
Leo nodded.
"Yes."
Chloe looked down.
The realization hurt.
Antonio had gone there knowing.
He had allowed himself to become part of the plan.
Not because he wanted power.
Because he wanted Gabriel to finally see the truth.
Leo reached for Chloe's hand.
"I'm sorry."
She looked at him.
"For what?"
"For making you suffer."
She shook her head.
"Just don't disappear again."
Leo smiled.
"I won't."
Then—
A gunshot came from upstairs.
Everyone froze.
Michael looked toward the door.
"That's not my man."
Gabriel drew his weapon.
"How many?"
Michael listened.
"At least ten."
Leo's face changed.
"They found us."
Chloe looked at him.
"Who?"
Leo whispered,
"Antonio's people."
Gabriel frowned.
"Your father is dead."
Leo looked at him.
"His network isn't."
Another gunshot.
Closer.
Then another.
Michael looked at Gabriel.
"There's a tunnel."
"Where?"
"Under the altar."
Gabriel looked at Chloe.
"Go."
She shook her head.
"I'm not leaving Leo."
Leo grabbed her hand.
"I'm coming."
Michael opened the cabinet.
Behind it was a narrow passage.
They moved.
Gabriel first.
Chloe and Leo behind him.
Michael last.
They entered the tunnel.
The door closed.
Gunfire erupted above.
The tunnel was dark.
Wet.
Narrow.
Chloe held Leo's hand.
She couldn't stop looking at him.
Every few seconds, she touched his arm.
As if checking that he was real.
Leo smiled.
"Still doing that?"
"You disappeared for two years."
"I noticed."
"Don't joke."
"Sorry."
They walked.
Then Chloe whispered,
"Leo."
"Yeah?"
"Did you mean what you said?"
"What?"
"About Gabriel."
Leo looked ahead.
"I don't know."
"You warned me not to trust him."
"I did."
"Do you trust him now?"
Leo glanced at Gabriel.
Gabriel heard.
He stopped.
The tunnel fell silent.
Leo looked at him.
"I don't know you well enough."
Gabriel nodded.
"Fair."
Chloe looked between them.
Then the tunnel shook.
Dust fell from the ceiling.
A deep explosion sounded behind them.
Michael shouted,
"Move!"
They ran.
The tunnel ended at an old basement beneath another building.
They burst through a wooden door.
Gabriel looked around.
"Where are we?"
Michael answered.
"Three blocks from the river."
Leo leaned against the wall.
He was breathing heavily.
Chloe touched his shoulder.
"Are you okay?"
"Yeah."
Then—
Leo's face changed.
He looked toward Gabriel.
"Wait."
"What?"
Leo reached inside his jacket.
He pulled out a small envelope.
He handed it to Gabriel.
"Your mother gave me this."
Gabriel opened it.
Inside was a photograph.
Beatrice.
Gabriel.
Leo.
And Antonio.
Taken years ago.
On the back was a handwritten message.
IF YOU FIND THIS, THE WAR IS OVER.
Gabriel frowned.
"The war?"
Leo nodded.
"Your mother knew this day would come."
"Why?"
"Because she started it."
Gabriel stared.
"What?"
Leo looked at him.
"Beatrice wasn't only a victim."
Gabriel's face tightened.
"What did she do?"
Leo hesitated.
"She built the evidence."
"She found the names."
"She hid the ledger."
"She contacted me."
"And she spent two years preparing for the day Antonio's network collapsed."
Gabriel stared at the photograph.
"My mother."
Leo nodded.
"Your mother has been fighting your father for fourteen years."
Chloe looked at Leo.
"And now?"
Leo's expression became serious.
"Now she needs us to finish it."
Gabriel looked at him.
"Finish what?"
Leo pointed toward the envelope.
"Open the second page."
Gabriel pulled out another sheet.
He read.
His face changed.
Chloe looked at him.
"What?"
Gabriel handed it to her.
The message was short.
THE FINAL NAME IS GABRIEL COSTELLO.
Chloe stared.
Leo closed his eyes.
Gabriel whispered,
"Why is my name on the list?"
Leo looked at him.
"Because your father didn't build the empire for you."
He paused.
"He built it around you."
Gabriel's face hardened.
"What does that mean?"
Leo looked toward the dark tunnel.
"Your father planned to make you the final sacrifice."
Silence.
Chloe stared at Gabriel.
The man who had seemed untouchable suddenly looked like a son standing in the ruins of everything he believed about his family.
Then Gabriel's phone rang.
Beatrice.
He answered.
No words.
Just her face.
She was crying.
Her hands moved.
Chloe translated.
"She says..."
Chloe stopped.
Gabriel waited.
"What?"
Chloe looked at Beatrice's hands again.
Her face drained of color.
"She says Antonio isn't dead."
Gabriel froze.
Then Beatrice signed the final sentence.
He has Chloe.
The call ended.
Chloe's blood went cold.
She turned.
Leo was standing beside her.
Gabriel's phone slipped from his hand.
Then a message appeared.
A photograph.
Beatrice tied to a chair.
And beside her—
Antonio Costello.
Alive.
Smiling.
The caption beneath the photograph contained four words.
BRING ME MY SON.
Gabriel stared.
Chloe looked at Leo.
Leo whispered,
"That's impossible."
But the photograph was real.
And somewhere in Chicago—
The man they had believed dead was waiting.
Not for the ledger.
Not for the empire.
Not even for revenge.
He was waiting for Gabriel.
His son.
May you like
And this time—
He wanted him alive.
